- We are young, we run greenKeep our teeth nice and cleanSee our friends, see the sightsAnd feel alright—"Alright"
Supergrass is a Britpop band from Oxford, formed in 1993 by Gaz Coombes Gaz Coombes (lead vocals, guitar), Mick Quinn (bass) and Danny Goffey (drums), with Gaz’s older brother, Rob, originally an additional member, later joining officially on keyboards in 2002.
After the dissolution of their previous band, The Jennifers, Gaz and Danny joined with Mick to form Supergrass. They released the punk-ish "Caught by the Fuzz" in 1994 on the indie label Backbeat, which was later re-released by Parlophone which generated hype from the UK press. They released the singles "Mansize Rooster" and "Lenny" afterwards, right before the release of their debut album I Should Coco in 1995. The album later received great commercial and critical success, reaching #1 in the UK Album Charts, helped by the success of their double A-side single "Alright"/"Time".
The band was able to keep the momentum with the releases of In It for the Money in 1997 and Supergrass in 1999, both commercially successful. By the Turn of the Millennium, they released three more albums, Life on Other Planets in 2002, Road to Rouen in 2005 and Diamond Hoo Ha in 2008, as well a Greatest Hits Album in the middle of them, named Supergrass is 10 in 2004 to celebrate the ten years of the band.
The band attempted to record a seventh album in 2009 titled Release the Drones but they shelved it afterwards and after a few final shows the band broke up in 2010. They went on to focus on other projects, including Gaz focusing on his solo career, until reuniting in 2019 as a touring act only, with one of their gigs being the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in 2022.
Discography
- I Should Coco (1995)
- In It for the Money (1997)
- Supergrass (1999)
- Life on Other Planets (2002)
- Road to Rouen (2005)
- Diamond Hoo Ha (2008)
"Caught by the Tropes"
- Alternate Album Cover: The Japanese album cover for In It for the Money, featuring the band pictured in front of a round window. Notably, that photo was taken on the Sawmills Studio where they were recording the album.
- Band of Relatives: Became Type 1 once Rob was integrated to the band.
- Britpop: One of the more notable bands of the movement, and one of the youngest in the scene at the time of their debut.
- Broken Record:
- The chorus of "In It For The Money" gets pretty much repeated towards the end until the song gets cut short.
- "Pumping on Your Stereo" repeats "Can you hear us humping on your stereo" throughout half of the song.
- Cut Short: In It for the Money cuts abruptly, with it quickly fading into "Richard III" afterwards.
- Darker and Edgier: Road to Rouen features a less pop-friendly, more melancholic and orchestral sound in comparison to their previous albums, due to the band members suffering from
Creator Breakdown at the time of recording. Notably it's also the only album to not feature the band on the cover.- While not as dark as Road to Rouen, their self-titled is moodier in comparison to their previous albums, while still retaining their power pop sound.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The cover art of In It for the Money.
- Face on the Cover: All of their albums in a way with the exception of Road to Rouen. In It for the Money and Diamond Hoo Ha play this straight, with I Should Coco, Life on Other Planets and their Self-Titled Album being stylized art of their faces.
- Fading into the Next Song:
- I Should Coco: "Sofa (of My Lethargy)" — "Time to Go";
- In It for the Money: Title Track — "Richard III";
- Fake Band: On the early days of promoting Diamond Hoo Ha, the band performed in small venues under the Diamond Hoo Ha Men moniker, with Gaz and Danny as a sole duo. This was due in part of Mick having to temporarily step down to recover from a accident he had in France.
- Fast-Forward Gag: The acoustic "We're Not Supposed To", with the song sounding sped up and the song's background Talkie Bits and backing vocals being faster chipmunk voices.
- Hidden Track: After the track "Run" ends, it is followed by a cheerful synth coda that goes for almost a minute.
- Location Song: "St. Petersburg".
- Longest Song Goes Last: "Run" from Life on Other Planets and "Butterfly" from Diamond Hoo Ha. Subverted with "Sofa (of My Lethargy)" however, with it being a penultimate track that transitions to the miniscule rocking "Time to Go".
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Caught by the Fuzz", a energetic pop-punk tune about dealing with the repercussions of being caught by the police over the possession of Marijuana.
- Miniscule Rocking:
- "Time to Go", the closer of I Should Coco clocking in at 1:56.
- "Coffee in the Pot" from Road to Rouen, at 1:49.
- Ode to Youth: "Alright".
- One-Woman Song: "Mary".
- Only in It for the Money: Subverted in "In It for the Money", as the protagonist decides to go back home to see his lover after pondering with the idea. The title was possibly chosen just for irony.
- Out-of-Genre Experience: The In it for the Money closer "Sometimes I Make You Sad", a rather goofy song carried by the band making beatboxing sounds, with musician Satin Singh adding additional percussion in the end. Fittingly the song features other instruments except drums.
- Pun-Based Title: Road to Rouen, based on the location in France the band recorded the album.
- Rock Trio: They were one from their formation until Rob officially joined in 2002.
- Shout-Out:
- "Richard III", with its name being based on William Shakespeare’s theatre play based on Richard III. Though the name isn't mentioned on the song, the band used it since they felt it matched the menacing tone of the track.
- The lines "If she's not on that three fifteen" / "Then I'm gonna know what sorrow means" from "Evening of the Day" are a direct reference to This is Spın̈al Tap.
- Road to Rouen, a Pun-Based Title on Ramones' Road to Ruin.
- Step Up to the Microphone: Mick has taken up the lead vocals in a few songs.
- Title Track: "In It for the Money" and partially "Diamond Hoo Ha Man".
- X-Ray Vision: The cover for their self-titled album.
